


Uneasy Night

by Psianabel



Series: Larquanort tales [2]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Aquanort AU, F/F, Larxene being actually concerned and kind, Struggling and snuggling, Struggling with darkness, hints of khux if you want to squint hard af
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-09-12 03:29:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16865302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Psianabel/pseuds/Psianabel
Summary: In the middle of the night, Larxene wonders why the spot in her bed beside her is empty, only to get confronted by a horrible sight.





	Uneasy Night

Larxene shifted in her sleep, rolling from one side of the bed to the other and extended her arm to her side, almost dangling from the edge of the bed there. There was a brief pause before she moved again, her hand patting on the empty mattress beside her and her hazy, sleepy mind got to work slowly.  
  
That wasn't right. This shouldn't have been empty. _She_ should be there.  
  
She retreated her arm again and rolled onto her back, rubbing her eyes before she opened them out of confusion, obviously being met with the darkness of the night. The only light source were the faint lights from distant buildings outside, ever shining through the World That Never Was.  
  
With that she could make out a basic form, a shadow pacing from left to right at the other side of the room, and Larxene promptly sat up in her bed, eyes wide open and readying her knives in a flash, all sleepiness suddenly washed away from her body. The electricity she summoned with that let her bedside lamp at the side flicker, filing the room with some light for a brief moment.  
  
The pacing stopped and _she_ turned to her, standing at the end of the bed to look at Larxene.  
  
It was then when Larxene let her knives disappear again.  
  
She sunk back in the pillow behind her and let out a deep sigh.  
  
“Aqua, it's in the middle of the night. Go back to sleep.” Larxene closed her eyes and was so ready to drift back to sleep again after this sudden excitement.  
  
But the confirmation that Aqua did what she told her never came, even after what felt like minutes passing. The pacing might have stopped, the room was silent, but Larxene's side remained empty and cold.  
  
“Aqua, will you just-” Larxene called out to her, again, but stopped midway when there was a dip of the mattress beside her, making her open her eyes again as no further movement came.  
  
The faint light from outside was enough for Larxene to see her sitting at the edge of the bed, sunken head and both hands gripping the edge, visibly shaking.  
  
Instantly Larxene sat up and turned on the bedside lamp beside her, manually this time, and waited a bit to get her eyes adjusted, because the sight in front of her was something she had to take in first.  
  
Aqua's body was engulfed by darkness swirling around her, almost covering her completely, and her arms shook so much out of force Larxene feared she would break the frame immediately.  
  
Something stung inside her. This wasn't normal, this _sight_ wasn't normal. She had seen Aqua embracing her darkness, using it in fights, claiming it as her own. She shouldn't be struggling with it, not anymore.  
  
And yet this was happening in front of her. Larxene could only open her mouth, trying to say _something_ , but no sound left her at the sight of it – it wasn't often she was speechless, but here she really didn't find a single word to say.  
  
In the beginning, when Larxene got to know Aqua, she saw her often struggling with it – flashes of darkness always accompanying her, distracting her, making her fighting style chaotic and vulnerable. But she fought through it over time, _absorbing_ the power, using it to her advantage in the end.  
  
Larxene had seen it all, felt the strength of Aqua's keyblade against her when she was at her highest – but this right here was the exact opposite.  
  
Aqua was fighting a losing battle in front of her eyes, here in secret and privacy with only the two of them. If Aqua had done something different if she wasn't here with her, Larxene didn't know – didn't _dare_ to think about. Aqua didn't want to trouble her, she let her continue sleeping while she dealt with the matter on her own – if Larxene hadn't noticed the empty space beside her, she never would have caught wind from that.  
  
Aqua would have never told her.  
  
But she did see it now and she wouldn't dare to let her deal with it on her own.  
  
Larxene inched closer, making it obvious to her to not make her get startled by her intrusion and Aqua didn't make any notions of declining that offer, letting her come closer inch by inch. The darkness surrounding her had such a strong aura that Larxene was physically pushed away if she didn't lean against it, fighting for each centimeter to reach her.  
  
And when she did, the first thing she did was to lay her hand on Aqua's strained one, feeling her muscles tremble under her. Aqua twitched at the touch, but let her hand stay there and let loose of the edge she was gripping, accepting the comfort and allowed Larxene to link their fingers together.  
  
An effect didn't came immediately, but the trembling she felt on her hand got lesser and lesser over time, enough time for Larxene to completely sit beside her – and for her to reach around Aqua's back to find her other hand and doing the same.  
  
The force that pushed her away first became lesser, but the darkness was still there, holding onto her in a tight grip.  
  
But Larxene didn't back down and just focused on holding her hands, comforting her through it, and not letting her go. It still took a while until the darkness noticeably vanished even just slightly, enough to the point it wasn't downright scary to look at.  
  
That was the point where Larxene could finally actually look at her, see her face and feel her ragged breath with the turmoil gone.  
  
Aqua stared at her feet, her gaze lost. “Larxene, I - “  
  
“Don't you dare to say another word.” Larxene immediately bit back, releasing one hand from her. She reached behind her to grab the blanket they usually shared and draped it around their shoulders, going back to hold her hand again.  
  
And Aqua kept quiet, closing her eyes instead and took deep breaths. It got better, she _felt better,_ the struggle vanished – all the while she held onto Larxene's embrace, letting the warmth she gave her flood into her to push back the coldness of the dark, the tight grip around her heart.  
  
Her body was tired from fighting against it and she simply let herself fall to her side where Larxene sat, immediately getting caught by her. Larxene held her, wrapping her arms around her middle to drag her back to the bed, quickly turning off the nightlight before she found a comfortable position for the two of them to lie down.  
  
Aqua snuggled close to her chest and Larxene continued to hold her, stroking over her gray hair in a comforting manner.  
  
“Why are you doing this.” Aqua's voice was almost like a whisper, weak and tired.  
  
_Why?_ _How can she ask why?_ Larxene bit her lip to not slip out the thoughts that were running through her mind. _We are sharing the same bed -_  
  
“... Someone dear to me once did the same thing. It felt like the right thing to do.”  
  
Aqua let out a hum of understanding before she closed her eyes and gave in into the embrace, curious of what she meant with that, but too weak to press on. It wasn't often that Larxene showed her this side of her after all.  
  
Larxene closed her eyes after she said that, her mind running of things to say should Aqua ask her – but she didn't come far as she felt Aqua slipping into sleep in her arms, the dark swirls around her almost gone now. She released the deep breath she didn't notice she held, glad that she didn't have to come up with an explanation for this.  
  
A secret that stayed with her and not ready to be told yet – maybe one day, should Aqua ask her.  
  
But for now she held onto her, like she did in the memory flashing in front of her eyes. Yet tonight wasn't about her, but about Aqua, and this time it was her to give her what she needs – warmth when she felt she was alone and lost in a world cruel to her.  
  
Tonight she was her beacon of hope.  
  


 


End file.
